What colors do I choose?

One of the things that people seem to question all the time when colorizing antique photographs is – what colors do I use??? Fair enough question, since you don’t want to use an 1980s color scheme for the 1920s. I have a solution for you, one that is very simple.

Remember when I mentioned hand tinting? This will be your blessing in disguise.

These will help you get a more of an understanding of the color palette used on photographs. This leads to the next helpful solution

Vintage magazines are a great help in understanding the colors used in decades past. Another thing to think of in this category – old sewing patterns because they used to show full detail color sketches of the outfit.

Finally, it never hurts to look at authentic fashion of the time. MAKE SURE IT’S AUTHENTIC!!!!!! There are tons of reproductions out there, which is fine because people need to make a living (and they have a love for something like everyone else), but some are not authentic. For example, if they are going by the costuming in the film The Great Gatsby, that isn’t authentic 1920s fashion.